Showing: Film festival offers diversity of movies, may boost tourism

If your cinematic tastes range beyond the typical Hollywood action, romantic comedy or horror movies, you're in for a treat this weekend.

The Guam International Film Festival, in its second year, is offering residents a host of interesting movie options through tomorrow. The festival highlights a combination of local, regional, mainland U.S. and international short films, features, documentaries and even animation.

The festival runs through tomorrow at the Micronesia Mall Stadium Theaters, with prices ranging from free to $15 per film.

More than 200 films from around the globe were submitted to the film festival, and more than 40 will be shown through the weekend.

The film festival -- the brainchild of Don and Kel Muna, brothers who also are filmmakers -- is two days of diversity. Films you wouldn't be able to watch elsewhere, notably films made here in Guam or elsewhere in the Micronesia region, will be highlighted and celebrated.

An aim of the film festival -- other than showcasing local, regional and international movies -- is to help further develop the film industry in Guam.

Many other communities started off with very small, very modest film festivals, only to see them grow into much bigger attractions. The Guam International Film Festival has the potential to grow into an attraction that draws visitors from the Asia-Pacific area and beyond, become a niche tourist attraction and help bring in more and different visitors than Guam is used to.

We commend the organizers of the Guam International Film Festival for their dedication and commitment, and hope to see the festival prosper and expand in the future.